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How Team South Africa Performed on Tuesday

Tanika LaskeyFeatures, NewsLeave a Comment on How Team South Africa Performed on Tuesday

Three sporting codes represent Team SA at the Olympics on Tuesday, although none of them are involved in determining any medals.

Team SA sprinter Benjamin Richardson has been withdrawn from Paris 2024 and will take no further part in these Olympics. In confirming the news, the Team SA chief medical officer Dr Jean de Wilde said: “Benjamin sustained a hamstring injury in the men’s 200m heats on Monday and has been withdrawn from all further competition.”

Athletics: 
Women’s 400m Repechage Round (Heat 2) 
Miranda Coetzee ran her personal best time in the Repechage race, qualifying for the Semi-Final on Tuesday, 7 August.

Men’s 400m Semi Final
Lythe Pillay finished seventh in his Semi-Final race. His position and time were, however, not enough to secure him a spot in the Final.

Men’s 400m Semi Final
Zakithi Nene finished sixth in his Semi-Final race. His position and time were, however, also not enough to secure him a spot in the Final.

Women’s 400m Hurdles Semi Final 1
Zeney Geldenhuys ran her personal best time in her Semi-Final race, finishing third. Her position and time were, however, not enough to secure her a spot in the Final.

Women’s 400m Hurdles Semi Final 2
Rogail Joseph also ran her personal best time in her Semi-Final race, finishing third. Her position and time were, however, not enough to secure her a spot in the Final.

Sport Climbing:
Women’s Boulder & Lead, Semi Final Boulder
Lauren Mukheibir had a challenging start to the competition, finishing 20th overall.

Men’s Speed – Qualification
Joshua Bruyns was eliminated in the Qualification Elimination heats, preventing him from progressing to the Final.

Canoe Sprint:
Men’s Kayak Double 500m Heats
Hamish Lovemore and Andrew Birkett finished second in their Quarter-Final race, securing a position in the Semi-Final.

Women’s Kayak Double 500m Heats
Esti Olivier and Tiffany Amber Koch finished 6th in their Quarter-Final race and did not manage to qualify for the Semi-Final.

SA champs wraps up with four new automatic qualifiers for Paris Olympics

Roxanne MartinNewsLeave a Comment on SA champs wraps up with four new automatic qualifiers for Paris Olympics

The SA Athletics Championships came to an end in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday with four athletes having added their names to the list of automatic qualifiers for the Olympic Games later this year. They were Zeney Geldenhuys and Rogail Joseph in the 400m hurdles, Benjamin Richardson in the 200m and Lythe Pillay in the 400m, while Zakithi Nene achieved his second qualifying time over 400m at these championships.

The final day’s action saw Marione Fourie claiming a fourth straight national title in the 100m hurdles, winning in a time of 13.01 seconds with Kayla van der Bergh second in 13.40 and former SA record holder Taylon Bieldt third in 13.46.

Fourie admitted afterwards: “Before the race, my brain didn’t want to get the steps in before the first hurdle so I was a little bit stressed but the time wasn’t too bad for my second race [of the season].”

Eight-time champion in the 110m hurdles Antonio Alkana withdrew from the final after overstretching his calf muscle in the warm-up. In his absence, SW Nel claimed his first ever title in 13.73 seconds, so emulating his father and coach, Wimpie, who won the SA title twice, in 1992 and 1993.

“It feels amazing. I didn’t expect it at all. All the hard work is paying off so I’m glad. I have a good coach who I trust so I’m very happy at the moment,” said Nel junior afterwards.

As for being coached by his dad, he joked: “It’s a bit of a pain in the butt because he says: ‘My time was faster,’ or ‘I did it twice.’ So I have to win it two times more and beat his time so I’m almost on his level.”

Speaking about Alkana withdrawing from the final, Nel added: “I was a bit disappointed. If he had run, I think I would have run a better time but I’m happy with the position.”

Also thrilled was his proud dad: “Words can’t describe it. It’s a very humbling feeling,” he beamed.

Meanwhile, after her second place in the 5000m earlier in the competition, Prudence Sekgodiso comfortably defended her 1500m title, pulling away from the pack just before the bell, and cruising to victory in a time of 4:13.09. Charne Swart was second in 4:16.89 and Carina Viljoen third in 4:19.29.

“The race was something else. I have a calf problem, I felt it in the 5k and I wanted to come out in the 5k but I thought – let me just finish it – but the 1500 is my event so I had to show who I am and chase for that gold medal and that’s what I did. It was nice,” she said.

“I regret running that 5k to be honest. Honestly, that was my last,” added Sekgodiso who has set her sights on breaking the SA 1500m record.

Jerry Motsau had a tougher fight on his hands to claim the men’s 1500m title 10 years after winning his first. He fended off his challengers in the final 200m finishing in 3:38.82 with Nkosinathi Sibiya second in 3:39.02 and Niel van der Merwe third in 3:39.78.

“It was a bit of a challenge but if you’re strong in your head, you pull through. I told myself I mustn’t give up, I should run through the tape, so that’s what I did,” he said.

In the field events, Kyle Blignaut defended his shot put title with a best throw of 20.36m, while Mire Reinstorf took women’s pole vault gold with a clearance of 4.15m.

 

Van Niekerk scrapes into 400m final and Gianmarco Tamberi wins high jump gold

Roxanne MartinNewsLeave a Comment on Van Niekerk scrapes into 400m final and Gianmarco Tamberi wins high jump gold

Wayde van Niekerk had South Africans holding their breath as he missed out on automatic qualification for the 400m final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Tuesday.

All our World Championship coverage is proudly fuelled by PUMA South Africa.

The Rio Olympic champion and world record holder finished third in the first of three semifinals, leading to an anxious wait to see if his time of 44.65 was quick enough to see him through to Thursday’s final. In the end, it proved enough, but the 2017 world champion was not happy with his performance.

“Tonight was very disappointing. Obviously not close to what we all know I can do,” he admitted afterwards. “But I live to see another day. I’ve got a day of recovery. The final is a great opportunity for each and every one of us. It’s all about the one who wants it the most, so these next few days I have to get my head right and prove to myself that this is what I want and then we put our best foot forward in the final.”

Gianmarco Tamberi put on a thrilling performance in the Men’s High Jump final, claiming his first World Title. The reigning Olympic champion jumped a height of 2,36 metres to claim the gold medal, with the USA’s JuVaughn Harrison finishing second on countback despite clearing the same height. Mutaz Barshim took the bronze after failing to clear 2,36m, a disappointment as this is the first time he hasn’t been crowned champion at a major championship since finishing second at Rio in 2016.

Zakithi Nene was also disappointed with his performance on the night, finishing sixth in the last of the 400m semifinals, in which two athletes including world leader Steven Gardiner pulled up injured, in 45.64 to miss out on a semifinal spot. “I almost pulled out myself with the tightness of my hammy, but I’m just glad I finished the race healthy and credit to everyone that qualified and went through,” he said afterwards.

Earlier in the evening there was happier news for sprint hurdler Marioné Fourie. The SA record holder finished third in her heat in 12.71 to automatically qualify for Wednesday’s semifinals.

“I was a little bit jittery at the start, I was a little bit nervous,” Fourie explained afterwards. “But I think the execution was OK… I think it was nerves, but the semifinals will definitely be better. I want another SA record.”

Taylon Bieldt missed out on the 100m hurdles semifinals after finishing seventh in her heat in 13.05.

Zeney van der Walt’s gruelling programme at these championships came to an end on Tuesday. Having doubled up with the 400m, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist was back after those semifinals on Monday for the 400m hurdles semifinals on Tuesday night.

She admitted afterwards to being somewhat disappointed with her time of 55.49 for eighth place. “It was tough. I am a bit disappointed with the time. I would have loved it if it was a sub-55 season’s best, PB, but it wasn’t. But I’m still grateful to have been part of the semifinals.”

Karsten Warholm Sets Eyes on Gold

Despite hitting the second hurdle, world record holder Karsten Warholm cruised to victory in his 400m hurdles semifinal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Monday. He joked afterwards that it was more of a problem for the hurdle than it had been for him – his time on the night a speedy 47.09 seconds. 19-year-old Jamaican Roshawn Clarke was second in a new world junior record of 47.34. Speaking after his semifinal, the Norwegian superstar reckoned: “Surely there is going to be someone who challenges me but today it was very good and I felt strong. The truth is that I ran a bit faster than I wanted to but what can I do when the others are running like hell too? The track can never be too fast.” Warholm will be looking to regain the world title he last won in 2019 in tonight’s final scheduled for 9.50pm.

Watch All Our Athlete Interviews!

Our team on the ground at Budapest have been interviewing all South African athletes after their respective events. To get an inside view into strategy and their thoughts on their performances, click the button below to see for yourself what it takes to compete on a world stage!



Watch Athlete Interviews


Watch Day Four Highlights!

Agony for Simbine while Van Niekerk secures semifinal spot

Roxanne MartinNewsLeave a Comment on Agony for Simbine while Van Niekerk secures semifinal spot

There was more major championship heartbreak for Akani Simbine after he was disqualified from the 100m semifinals at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday for a false start.

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“I’m disappointed. I’ve never false started on the circuit, never false started at a championship, so I’m just very disappointed,” said a devastated Simbine. “I just know that I moved when the gun said go, because I’m generally a slow starter. But it is what it is.”

In Simbine’s absence in the evening final, it was Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo who brought glory to Southern Africa. The 20-year-old star stormed to a silver medal in a national record time of 9.88 behind American Noah Lyles who took gold in 9.83.

Earlier in the day Wayde van Niekerk cruised to victory in his opening 400m heat in a time of 44.57 to qualify for the semifinals. Zakithi Nene made a blunder at the end of his race to allow two athletes in front of him at the finish to deny him automatic qualification. His time of 44.88 was enough to see him safely through to the semifinals as one of the fastest losers, however.

Speaking after the race, Van Niekerk said: “The heats and the semifinals are about surviving so I had to read my competitors and gauge off of them. That’s what I did in the heats and I think it should be a similar strategy in the semis and then in the final we’ll give it what we’ve got left.”

Nene reckoned he would learn from his mistakes, saying: “I judged the race well to about 300 or 320m, and I thought the race was over then before it was even over. So that’s on me, poor judgement of the race but I’ll fix it in the semi.”

Also through to the women’s 400m semifinals was Zeney van der Walt, who is doubling up at these championships – also competing in the 400m hurdles. The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist finished third in her 400m heat in 51.76 to book a spot in Monday’s semifinals. She’ll also be contesting the 400m hurdles heats on Monday, with just over two hours to recover between the two races.

“It feels really great, it feels amazing to advance to the semifinals and I’m very excited,” said Van der Walt. “My coach and I decided to do both events this year to take the challenge and to see how my body can manage it and to use it as a stepping stone here.”

Watch All Our Athlete Interviews!

Our team on the ground at Budapest have been interviewing all South African athletes after their respective events. To get an inside view into strategy and their thoughts on their performances, click the button below to see for yourself what it takes to compete on a world stage!



Watch Athlete INTERVIEWS


Watch Day Two's Highlights